Note that locations are converted from OSGB to Latitude and Longitude for export as a KML and may as a result not map exactly to the correct locations. Further the locations given are dependent on the place names being correctly set by the contributing photographer.

21/02/2019

The gateway to Stirlings railway station looks set to take a step back in time with plans to restore its distinctive entrance canopy.
Scotrail and its partners want to restore the canopy known as a porte-cochere as part of its plans to redevelop the station forecourt, making it less accessible for vehicles and more pedestrian and cycle friendly.
The current station is the second on the site and was designed by architect James Miller of Glasgow, who designed around 70 stations in Scotland over the course of his career.
A listed building application has been submitted to alter the canopy and restore it to its original size and form at the station in Goosecroft Road.

Detail showing part of the entrance to the James Miller main station building at Stirling, photographed in June 2008. The category A listed structure dates from 1915.
John Furnevel [12/06/2008]

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18/02/2019

ScotRail has taken another step to provide better services for customers, with the introduction of the latest brand-new Hitachi class 385 electric train to its routes south of Glasgow.
Customers travelling on the Cathcart Circle and Central to Newton routes are now able to experience the new three-carriage train after it was introduced to weekday morning peak services from today (Monday 18 February).

A 385 comes to halt at Linlithgow with a Glasgow service on 23 October 2018. 385s have their own announcements, slightly different from those on other stock. For example trains ^...will soon be calling at...^ rather than ^...are now approaching...^ Makes sense, really.
David Panton [23/10/2018]

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14/02/2019

A series of community theatre workshops will be held across Scotland, thanks to a grant of almost £5,000 from the ScotRail Foundation Cultural and Arts Fund.
Matthew Dunn, founder of 3in1 Theatre Company, has been awarded £4,970 in funding from the Cultural and Arts Fund to develop a new play with Mens Shed Scotland.
The theatre company will meet with men from Mens Sheds located across Scotland “ including in Stonehouse, Barrhead, Leith, Galashiels, Glenrothes and St Andrews “ to produce a play based on their ideas and experiences.

Aberdeen express class 170 passing the former Carnoustie station (closed 1900) The camera is on the present up platform.
Brian Forbes [19/10/2007]

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04/02/2019

The decision to axe plans for a direct rail link between Glasgow city centre and Glasgow Airport has been described as a ^betrayal for the city^.
Glasgow Labour leader Frank McAveety made the comments after alternative proposals were announced last week for a shuttle pod system built to run between the airport and Paisley Gilmour Street instead.

A Transport Scotland sign standing alongside the playing fields near Paisley St James in October 2009. This would have seen a new viaduct constructed as part of the now scrapped Glasgow Airport Rail Link project.
Colin Harkins [06/10/2009]

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01/02/2019

Plans for a rail link from Glasgow city centre to the airport has been ditched for the second time.
Ten years after the original Glasgow Airport Rail Link was scrapped, plans to replace the current tram-train proposal with a rapid transit system between the airport and Paisley have been unveiled instead.
The leaders of Glasgow and Renfrewshire councils met with Transport Secretary Michael Matheson and airport bosses on the Executive Steering Group this week and agreed to look at a new proposal.
Work is now to start on preparing a business case for a Personal Rapid Transit system, which has been branded a ^toytown solution^.

A Transport Scotland sign standing alongside the playing fields near Paisley St James in October 2009. This would have seen a new viaduct constructed as part of the now scrapped Glasgow Airport Rail Link project.
Colin Harkins [06/10/2009]

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29/01/2019

The Cairngorm funicular railway is to remain out of action through the summer and possibly longer, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has said.
Engineers have raised safety concerns about the piers, beams and foundations on the railway, which has not operated since before October last year.
HIE owns the funicular and the wider Cairngorm Mountain ski area near Aviemore.

The temporarily closed Base Station of the Cairngorm Mountain Railway on 5th October 2018.
Bruce McCartney [05/10/2018]

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23/01/2019

Oxford to Cambridge railway corridor project promoter East West Railway Co has published a prior information notice seeking specialist partners to support the planning of the Bedford to Cambridge section, which is it envisaged could open in the mid-2020s.
The governments 2018 budget allocated £20m for the development of a strategic outline business case for what is designated as the Central Section of the revived rail corridor between Oxford and East Anglia.

Remains of the old station at Bedford St Johns on the Oxford - Cambridge line, seen around 1976 looking east towards Sandy. The station was closed in 1984 when a replacement was opened on the spur running north towards Bedford Midland off to the left. [See image 34689]
Ian Dinmore [//1976]

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22/01/2019

Forty-six Pacers remained in traffic with Northern at the start of January, after they were supposed to have been sent off-lease.
According to the operators franchise agreement, 33 Class 142s were due to be off-lease from January 5. Meanwhile, 13 two-car Class 144s were to have been returned to Porterbrook by January 5 (the first five were supposed to have been sent off-lease on September 15 last year, followed by two in October, four in November and the final two this January).
Instead, the trains remain in traffic, with Northern citing problems with electrification for their retention. The final ten three-car Class 144s are due off-lease on March 31.

Most trains from Manchester continue through Blackburn to Clitheroe but a few turn back there using bay Platform 3. Northern Pacer 142047 arrives in the bay on 23 July and will head south towards Bolton again in a few minutes.
Mark Bartlett [23/07/2011]

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10/01/2019

A 65-year-old paddle steamer which once transported tourists across Loch Lomond is to be taken out of the water ahead of a planned restoration.
The Maid of the Loch will be lifted by the original winchhouse and onto the Category A-listed Balloch Steam Slipway - the second time the ship has been slipped in nearly 40 years.
The steamer has been moored at Balloch Pier since 1996.
Once out of the water, an ultrasound survey will investigate its condition.

Pier in use - see the heaving line being thrown - as PS Maid of the Loch berths in 1976. Note the catenary at Balloch Pier station on the far right. Originally opened as Balloch Wharf in 1850, the station closed to passengers in September 1986.
Colin Miller [//1976]

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05/01/2019

Fylde coast rail passengers are being advised to plan their journeys from tomorrow as the final phase of work to upgrade railway drainage between Preston and Blackpool takes place over the next seven Sundays. Buses will replace trains between Preston and both Blackpool North and Blackpool South stations. Meanwhile, Northerns new Spanish built diesel six car Class 195 has been tested on the tracks this week. The long promised new trains are set to improve passengers journeys.

A new Northern Class 195 DMU, from Spanish manufacturer CAF, departs south from Platform 5 at Preston on 14 September 2018 whilst on a test run. This was the second round trip of the day between Warrington and Carnforth with 195103 and as the theatre box on the platform starter signal indicates it is being routed onto the Up Slow.
John McIntyre [14/09/2018]

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02/01/2019

WORK on a second platform and footbridge at Dunbar Railway Station will get under way this year.
The £15 million scheme, funded by Transport Scotland, is due to start in the spring and will see a second platform at the busy station in operation for the first time in decades.
Network Rail has appointed Amco as the main contractor.
The two platforms would be linked by a footbridge, with lifts at either side for disabled access.
However, there will not be pedestrian access directly from the south side to the platform, although it is something East Lothian Council is keen to introduce.

View from the goods yard at Dunbar back towards the station in 1979 with a BR InterCity HST at the platform. Note the second platform and overall roof supports still in place at this time.
Bruce McCartney [//1979]

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29/12/2018

Llangollen Railway is steaming ahead with its plans to open a new station in 2019. The railway is currently running its mince pie specials, giving people the chance to enjoy getting out between Christmas and New Year to enjoy a stream train ride and maybe even a walk around Llangollen.
It marks the end of a busy 2018 which included events from Thomas the Tank weeks to the most recent Santa specials for families, and real ale and jazz events for the grown ups.
Next year will see the railway finally extend the line into the heart of Corwen further up the Dee Valley.

DMU at Carrog on the Llangollen Railway in September 2012.
Bruce McCartney [15/09/2012]

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25/12/2018

A deteriorating road bridge which it was feared could collapse onto the East Coast Main Line in Aberdeenshire has been demolished.
The Abbeyton road-over-rail bridge, on the B966 just north of Fordoun, was shut in July.
Inspections found serious failings in the 170-year-old structure.
Aberdeenshire Council said a specialist contractor was working alongside council engineers to dismantle it over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
The demolition was under way by about 02:00, and the main structure was gone by the middle of the morning.

DMU at Carrog on the Llangollen Railway in September 2012.
Bruce McCartney [15/09/2012]

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21/12/2018

Is the Ormskirk to Preston line the worst railway in the UK?
Since the timetable changes in May, more than 2,000 services have been cancelled between the two towns in north west England, a figure that rises every day.
In exclusive data analysed for the BBC, 5,712 trains were timetabled to run during the six-and-a-half-month period.
But up until Saturday 15 December, only 3,701 operated. That meant a third of services simply vanished.

With major engineering work again taking place at Liverpool Lime Street, until 29 July, Northern are again operating Sunday trains between Preston and Ormskirk to connect with Merseyrail services into Liverpool city centre. on 03 June 2018 a service to Ormskirk departs from Croston passing the greenhouse and vegetable garden on the disused platform which is maintained by station volunteers.
John McIntyre [03/06/2018]

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18/12/2018

Ministers are pursuing a medium-term alternative to the stalled merger of British Transport Police into Police Scotland, it has been confirmed.
Plans to integrate transport policing into Scotland^s single national force were put on hold in August amid concerns from officers and unions.

View from the station walkway at Waverley on 8 February 2018, with traincrew, passengers, catering staff and British Transport Police all going about their business. At the recently extended platform 12 is the 1027 to Glasgow Central, while the train at 11 is the 1030 to Glasgow Queen Street. Although it will leave 3 minutes later, the latter service will reach its destination 28 minutes earlier than the former.
John Furnevel [08/02/2018]

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16/12/2018

With temperatures dropping across Britain, the rail industry is gearing up for winter.
Just like road and air travel, wintry weather can pose challenges for the rail network, with its effects ranging from speed restrictions on exposed routes, to suspension of services.

Freezing but still on time - the 0900 service to Liverpool Street awaiting its departure time at Norwich behind 90002 on an extremely cold winter^s morning in January 2010.
Ian Dinmore [07/01/2010]

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11/12/2018

Britains least used railway station has been named as British Steel Redcar.
Only 40 passengers used the North Yorkshire station in 2017/18, according to Office of Rail and Road figures.
The coke ovens and blast furnace at the nearby SSI steel plant were shut down in 2015 leading to a drop in demand for the railway station but there are still some people employed at the site.

The ^Buxton Spa Express^ stops at Denton on 25 February 2017 to take water, or at least the loco, 45690 Leander does. Denton has only one passenger train a week, the 0922 Stockport to Stalybridge on a Friday and nothing in the opposite direction!
John McIntyre [25/02/2017]

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10/12/2018

The former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo station reopened permanently this morning (10 December) for the first time since international services moved to St Pancras in 2007, as part of the £800 million project to increase capacity on the South Western Railway network.

A Class 421 (4-CIG) emu waiting to leave Waterloo in 1981 with other commuter stock stabled in the west sidings in the background. [This section of the station would change beyond recognition just over 10 years later when the International terminus for the new Eurostar services was built here. These would be handled at Waterloo from 1994 until finally being moved to the transformed St Pancras station in 2007.]
John Furnevel [17/09/1981]

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07/12/2018

A plan to restore a 65-year-old paddle steamer which once transported tourists across Loch Lomond has received nearly £1m from the Scottish government.
Owners of the Maid of the Loch had feared for its future after a £3.7m lottery funding bid failed earlier this year.
The Loch Lomond Steamship Company (LLSC) said the new cash would be used to repair the ship^s hull and engines.
The steamer has been moored at Balloch Pier since 1996. [1981]

The paddle steamer Maid of the Loch photographed on Loch Lomond in September 1955 on one of her regular trips out from Balloch Pier.
A Snapper (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) [06/09/1955]

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22/11/2018

A £1.5bn contract to build new London Underground trains in East Yorkshire has been signed by Siemens.
The firm was awarded the contract in June, but a month later competitors Bombardier and Hitchachi launched a legal challenge in the High Court.
The High Court later ruled that the deal could go ahead.
A new £200m factory in Goole, which has not yet been built, will now manufacture 94 trains for the Piccadilly line.
The new trains are part of London Underground^s ^Deep Tube^ upgrade programme to modernise the Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo and City lines.

Platform scene at South Ealing station on the Piccadilly Line in September 2015. [Ref query 1579]
Michael Gibb [/09/2015]

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08/11/2018

An £82m masterplan for Coventrys train station has been recommended for approval by the city council.
The proposals include the construction of a new station building, providing a second entrance at the western end of the station, and 634-space multi-storey car park.
Coventry City Council will discuss the proposals at a planning committee meeting on Thursday 15 November. If formally approved, it would see a new gateway created for the millions of passengers who arrive into the city by train each year.

323211 forms the 7.07 to Wolverhampton at Coventry on 20th August 2012. It looks considerably more bright and alert than the photographer!
Ken Strachan [20/08/2012]

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02/11/2018

The West Somerset Railway has announced that it has submitted proposals to Great Western Railway to run shuttles next Summer.
The proposals could see shuttle trains connecting Taunton and Bishops Lydeard on peak days during Summer 2019.
This bid has been made to GWRs Customer & Communities Improvement Fund and is in competition with hundreds of others from around the Great Western Network.

An immaculate looking D6575 with a train at Bishops Lydeard on 2 September 2012.
Colin Alexander [02/09/2012]

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26/10/2018

Archaeological work to remove 45,000 skeletons from a burial site to make way for HS2 construction has begun.
Some 61,000 burials took place at St James^s Gardens between 1788 and 1853, beside what is now London Euston station.
Protests and a memorial service were held before the site was closed to create a new terminus station.
HS2 said the dig in Camden would ^add to our understanding of how this city transformed^.
The burial ground is one of 60 archaeological sites along the route between between London and Birmingham which is being explored prior to the construction of the £55.7bn high-speed rail line.

Looking across the platforms at the north end of Euston station on Monday 3 March 1991.
Ian Dinmore [03/03/1991]

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18/10/2018

Network Rail and the East Coast Main Line Railway board have announced a new state-of-the-art roof will be installed at Leeds station as part of the next step of upgrades.
A new transparent roof made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) will be installed on the southern concourse at one of the UKs busiest railway stations.
The organisations said the new roof would be ready in time for UCI Road World Championship next autumn, replacing the current dark and tired wooden roof with a light-weight design.

The South side of Leeds station seen from the footbridge on 22 April 2009. View is east, with First TransPennine services for Hull and Liverpool Lime Street standing at platforms 15 and 16 on the far right and a stopping service for Manchester Piccadilly in bay platform 13 below.
John Furnevel [22/04/2009]

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10/10/2018

The first of a fleet of upgraded high-speed trains is to enter service in Aberdeen next week, it has been announced.
Rail operator ScotRail said the first of the 26 newly refurbished Inter7City trains would run from Aberdeen to Edinburgh via Dundee from Monday.
The diesel trains date back to the 1970s but they have all been renovated.
The first of the refurbished trains was supposed to be introduced along the line in May.
But ScotRail admitted the project had been ^a challenge^.

Dawn of a new era as ScotRail HST (power cars 43132 and 43021) nears Aberdour, heading from Craigentinny to Aberdeen on 10 September 2017.
Bill Roberton [10/09/2017]

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05/10/2018

One of ScotRails brand new trains caused significant disruption to its busiest line today because of defective brakes. The train operator admitted it was the latest of a series of similar problems to have hit the class 385 electric trains since last month.

ScotRail 385015 on a test run from Linlithgow to Queen Street on 24 July 2018, the first day of passenger services for the new Class 385 EMUs. 385104 and 385003 did the honours for those travellling between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Colin McDonald [24/07/2018]

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04/10/2018

The possible emergency closure of the East Coast Main Line due to a deteriorating bridge could cost Aberdeenshire Council up to £3m a day to cover disruption.
The Abbeyton road-over-rail bridge, on the B966 just north of Fordoun, was shut in July.
Inspections found serious failings in the 170-year-old structure.
It is now to be demolished, but the local authority said an emergency closure could cost £1m to £3m a day. [The bridge is two miles north of Fordoun.]

For a short length the Stromeferry Bypass has been diverted onto the Kyle line fitted with a surface to allow road vehicles to drive on the line, effectively a tramway for this portion. The cliff face to the left requires stabilisation and netting to make it safe. Network Rail has very generously allowed this arrangement which has allowed the road to stay open albeit with very considerable delays for road traffic and a complicated combined convey system and railway operation. The location is to the west of the avalanche shelter.
Michael Gibb [08/10/2018]

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29/09/2018

Work has begun as part of a 12-month programme to upgrade and replace the stations glass roof.
The current roof has been severely affected by damp, dirt and corrosion in previous years.
Transport bosses have now made the decision to replace the grade a-listed roof with structure similar to those implemented at Haymarket and Stirling stations.
Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart said the work would benefit local people.
He said: With major investment and upgrades to the Aberdeen to Inverness rail route and improvements to services from the central belt, our city needs to have a station that is fit for purpose and prepared to cope with growing travel demands.

View south into Aberdeen station from Guild Street bridge in November 2006 looking along the former Great North bay platforms 10 and 11 towards the buffer stops. The old bays have long been infilled and given over to car parking but the canopy framework and supports are still in place. [See image 33926]
John Furnevel [05/11/2006]

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25/09/2018

Work to revamp a section of railway in Aberdeen is under way.
The 11 weeks worth of work started on Saturday.
Network Rail is renewing tracks on the Hanover“Waterloo line until December 8.The route might not be well-known to travellers as the line does not carry any passengers.
It is a stretch of freight railway that links Waterloo Quay into the rail network before branching off from the passenger railway at Kittybrewster.